Succinctly Thinking

Sunday, March 19, 2017

I've been thinking a lot about career lately (see my GoFish Beta job posting). What I see in myself is my perfectionist tendency to want it all--a high salary, a home business or a dream work environment, creative and fulfilling work, flexible hours--and a sense that it is getting harder and harder to find these. Our job prospects are being transformed and I think limited by the global, mechanized, computerized, commodified economy.

Movement toward the type of work I most desire will be incremental. Maybe I will need to stay still in my current job for a while.

Be thankful for God's daily blessings, and His assurance that He will provide for me. Most of all, know that having it all won't really happen until Heaven, so don't put my faith in that perfect job.

In our times, the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter are elevated to divine status. Is there no end to the perfection that these little deities can achieve in my life?

Food is no longer an enjoyable source of physical nourishment. It is transformed by foodists into a pagan sacrament. The more global, the more time-consuming, the more explosively seasoned it is, the more it approaches the status of edible food. If and only if it is perfect, it conveys a moment of ecstasy in which I am one with the food.

Clothing is no longer a dignified protective covering for the body. It is an expression of my unique and worshipable personality. Whether I buy from high-end designers or from the lowest of thrift stores, I must express myself perfectly through many, many pieces of clothing. Behold, the real me!

Shelter is no longer a personal, protected space for daily living. It is the seedbed that must nourish that most finicky of hothouse plants which is me. In addition to protecting me from intruders and the elements, my living environment must energize and relax, challenge and inspire, welcome and astound me and my visitors. We all must curate our homes to optimize every function of our lives, at whatever price tag necessary. And this is an ever-evolving project.

The old conceptions of food, clothing, and shelter may be afforded the status of basic human needs or basic rights. How long until the new conceptions are also deemed basic needs or basic rights? Has it already happened? Aren't the cable networks that focus on these needs essentially educating us to believe it?

Thursday, March 9, 2017

GoFishBeta is looking for a person of integrity who is
willing to use any means necessary to make our company exceptional.

Work Environment

Our work culture is as friendly and casual as you could want—because
it’s YOU! All our staff telecommute from
home offices, so theoretically the only workplace conflicts are what you
yourself bring. At home you will enjoy
great freedom to work whenever requested.
Our motto is, “We’re usually in our pajamas, but we’re always available.”

Company Overview

GoFishBeta is the industry leader in its own unique niche. We are the creators of THE next app that
businesses have to adapt to or risk maintaining senior employment. Our multi-platform modality exploits an “ad
in, ad out” content system. By using the
app, our clients realize their unique potential to tweak their mission and even
their industry sector, all in real time.

Essential Duties

Do you check your device every five minutes for personal
use? That’s A-OK! Now all you need to do is check it every five
minutes for work-related communications, too.
That is the job in a nutshell. Think
of your job not as a 40-hour profession but as gaining a family who are
helpless without you. Other duties as needed.

Education Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a trending or related field. Our company is wholly unique, but preference
will be given to applicants with five years of experience doing what we do. Pizzazz is a plus.

How to Apply

Please submit a tasteful “brag book” to our Director of
Social Media. Interviews are conducted
by Skype. Remember to dress
professionally and display several creative-type pieces of furniture or home
décor behind you. Be prepared for an
on-the-spot offer as we generally frown upon talking it over with family.

Wages and Benefits

Paid employees receive a generous health, dental, and 401(k)
plan. This is an unpaid internship which
is great exposure and sure to land you a string of other internships—resumé gold!

Thursday, February 2, 2017

I hope you enjoy this blog of short pieces from the mind of John. Pieces will consist of commentary on current events, bits of education and philosophy, and maybe some poetry or humor thrown in. I wish for this to be a quiet blog of reasonable thought on humanity using few words.

When I want an answer online I skim-read, to my shame as a lover of letters. Why not say only what is important (and make skimming nearly impossible)? Let us meditate on the world, on the people in it, in our hearts, turning things around, the better to understand them, in silence.